Learning to See
by Castielnerdangel
Summary: Castiel was born blind. He has never seen the beauty in the world until Dean Winchester comes into his life and teaches him to see.


Castiel felt his feet pat along the tile floor of his kitchen as he made himself a cup of his favorite tea. The kettle let out a loud whine, and he carefully lifted it off the stove and put the tea bag inside. He didn't see outside but he could tell it was raining. The sound of the raindrops hitting the roof was something he loved hearing.

He liked to imagine that he could look up into the sky and watch the millions of raindrops falling down from dark expanse above him but that was something he would never be able to do. Nor would he ever see what snow looked like or even his own face.

Castiel had been born blind. It was a challenge he had to learn to deal with, but he had never known anything different. He didn't let it separate him from the rest of the world. He wanted to live his life normally, and he was determined to do just that.

The layout of his small house was familiar to him, and he could navigate as well as if he had been able to see. Going outside was a different story. He used a cane to help him get around and for the most part it wasn't difficult but sometimes in new areas, it took a while to get used to it.

He had a part time job at the library, organizing the shelves using the brail code on the spines of the books. It didn't pay a lot but he enjoyed it. His parents were wealthy but they died in a car accident when he was young so he and his two brothers, Michael and Gabe split the money they left for them.

Castiel had a few friends and a simple life, and he liked it like that. Of course, he had to deal with discrimination from people around him. Some people treated him like he was a child who didn't know how to survive in the world, but he tried not to let things like that bother him. Which was easier said than done.

The tips of his fingers tingled as he wrapped his hands around the hot cup of tea. The steam billowed up into his face and warmed his chin. He smiled, smelling the sweet scent of chai tea, bringing back memories of Christmas holidays.

He made his way across the tile floor until he felt the smooth glass of the sliding door under his fingertips. As he slid the door open, he felt the breeze of the cool air ruffle his hair and sting his nose. He was hit with the scent of falling leaves and light chimney smoke coming from the houses around him. The air was cold, and the weatherman had predicted snow to fall in the next couple of weeks.

He lowered himself down on a small patio chair and enjoyed the sensation of the contrast between the heat of his mug and the cold of the air. He took a sip of the tea, letting the hot liquid run down his throat, warming his body temporarily.

He loved to sit outside and let his senses fill with the sounds, smells and feelings of nature around him. He liked to imagine what the world around him looked like, sometimes over stimulating his senses with the good and the bad.

He was lost in the feeling of the air against his skin when he heard the sound of an alarm ringing inside his house. He sighed and took one more whiff of the cool air before getting up and returning to the warm comfort of his home. The alarm was loud, and he hurried to the clock on the counter to stop the assault of the noise inside his ears.

The alarm meant it was time to get to work. He grabbed his white cane and keys and made a check of the locks before closing his door behind him and venturing out into the cold air. The sounds of the light traffic and a few people hurrying along the sidewalk filled his ears. He let his cane guide him over the cracks in the concrete and the uneven roads as he made the short walk to the library.

The woman at the counter greeted him as he walked in and went to go set his stuff down in the back room. His fingers traced his surroundings until he felt the edge of the metal cart. He moved forward slowly, and his fingers brushed against the brail on the side of the book.

He made his way over to the children's section of the library, hearing little feet pattering across the carpet and young kids using louder than library voices.

His finger brushed against one of the books on the shelves and he made his way down until he felt the right spot where the book should go. He lifted it up and gently slid it into its spot. He did this with a few other books until he heard someone walk up beside him.

"You look a little old for children's books" a man said, his voice low but smooth.

"Don't worry, I'm just organizing them. Can I help you with something?" Castiel asked, turning towards the sound of his voice.

The man laughed, a noise that made Castiel smile. "I'm looking for a book for my little brother, The Hungry Caterpillar or something like that" the man said.

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar, yes. That seems to be a favorite among the little ones" Castiel said, walking forward and gesturing the man to follow. His fingers trailed along the sides of the books until he found the one he was looking for. "Here you go" he said, handing the book to the man.

"Thanks" the man said, taking the book from him but Castiel could feel him linger for a couple seconds before he left. He finished with the children's section after a couple hours and started pushing the empty cart back to the front of the library but a voice from one of the tables caught his attention.

It was the same voice of the man before but there was a young boy voice with him.

"The caterpillar flew through the sky and ate a huge hole through the center of the tree, stopping for a minute to flex his caterpillar muscles for the lady caterpillars living there" the man said, causing a fit of laughter to erupt from the boy.

"I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that isn't how the book goes" Castiel said, chuckling a little.

"Oh yeah, well this is probably the tenth time we've read this book, I thought I would change things up" he said, looking up at Castiel.

"We have storytelling sessions every day if you want to listen to someone tell a story better than your brother" Castiel said to the little boy, causing him to laugh loudly.

"Hey, he loves my stories, don't you Sammy" the man said, ruffling his hair. "Why don't you go pick out some more books and we can take them with us" he said, as the little boy went hurrying behind the bookshelves.

"Dean by the way" the man said, turning his attention back to Castiel. "Castiel. Nice to meet you Dean" he said, extending a hand. He felt the man's hand grip his own firmly before pulling away. His hand was nicely muscled but still soft.

"Any books I can put back for you?" Cas asked, even though something about this man made him not want to leave.

"Oh no, I'm good. The kid reads like crazy, we'll probably be taking these books with us but thanks though" Dean said, smiling and using this opportunity to look into Cas's face. He had light stubble, chiseled features, fluffy dark hair and slightly foggy blue eyes.

"Of course. Well enjoy those books, have a nice day" Cas said, smiling and pushing the cart back to the counter. As he was adding more books to the cart, he heard Dean and Sam checking out their stack of books at the counter. After a minute they were gone and the library returned to its quiet normalcy.

The day went by quickly, Castiel focusing on his task until at least 5 more carts of books were emptied, and the books were returned to their designated areas. "Bye Cas, thanks" the woman at the counter said as he grabbed his stuff from the back room and exited the library.

Going from the warm library to the cold outside was an unwelcomed attack on his skin. His arms filled with goose bumps and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he zipped his jacket up higher.

At a slower pace than before, he finally made it back to his house, closing the door quickly to keep as little cold air outside as possible. It was almost thanksgiving and Cas was looking forward to spending that day with his brothers and their families.

He hung his jacket up and sat down on the couch, stretching out his legs and folding up his cane. He reached around the table until he hit the remote, grabbing it and clicking the play button. The room was instantly filled with the soothing sounds of Mozart, the piano bouncing off every corner of the room.

He laid back and took a deep breath, letting the music wash over him, allowing him to feel what beauty looked like. He listened to the whole cd before getting up and making his way into the kitchen. He reached into the fridge and grabbed the sandwich that he forgot to take with him for lunch. He sat down at the table and ate it, nibbling in silence by himself.


End file.
